The Alabama connection to the new Will Ferrell road trip documentary ‘Will & Harper’

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — As she is preparing to make the next step in her transition, Harper Steele was trying to think of what her new name would be.

Steele, who had worked in the entertainment business from “Saturday Night Live” to the recent “Roast of Tom Brady” on Netflix, had thought long and hard about what her name would be as a transgender woman, finally feeling that she was living as her true self.

Steele’s journey is explored both figuratively and literally, one being a journey to self-realization while the other was an actual journey across the United States with comedian Will Ferrell, whom she first met in 1995 when they were both hired at “Saturday Night Live.” The end result, as well as the conversations the two had as they began this new chapter in their relationship, are captured in the new documentary, “Will & Harper,” now streaming on Netflix.

During one part of the trip, Steele mentioned to Ferrell how her family history had player a part in her coming up with her new name. Her mother, Joy, had gone to school with Harper Lee, author of the iconic Alabama novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” To her, Harper sounded right, so she became Harper Steele.

Despite being born raised in Iowa, Steele’s connection to Alabama goes well beyond her name. For one, her mother grew up in Montgomery, later attending college at Huntington College, where Lee spent one year. Joy Steele and her husband, the Birmingham-born Oliver Steele, would eventually make their way to Iowa City, where they both took on jobs as professors at the University of Iowa.

Oliver, who went to college at Auburn University, was an English professor at the University of Iowa. Joy would also teach English at the department, as well as take part in mentoring students in the university’s distance-learning program. Both Oliver and Joy died within weeks of one another in 2018, a few years before Steele had made her transition.

With two parents immersed in writing and books, Steele was also part of the literary community in Iowa, where she babysat for John Irving’s children, according to The Sioux City Journal. She would later graduate from the university with a degree in English.

Since its release last week, “Will & Harper” has received rave reviews, garnering a 99% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Will & Harper” is now streaming on Netflix.

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